Comments on: Squats vs. Leg Press for Big Legs

By: lylemcd

lylemcd — Wed, 28 Apr 2010 22:26:47 +0000

Ok, everything that need be said in the comments here has been said so I’m closing comments after I make the last one.

This whole macho bullethead idea that one MUST squat is simply asinine. It’s a tool, a good tool but just a tool. IF I said you had to run to get into shape, you’d think me mad. If I said you had to ride a bike, you’d think me stupid. It’d be like saying that you MUST eat apples. Or some other random food. As if they held the secret of life and death. It’s idiotic.

Yet people seem intent on making exactly that argument. I’d suggest you read The Importance of Context and try to get your head out of your ass.

And comments are closed.

By: Matty

Matty — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 00:56:59 +0000

Macho dipshit, moi? Just because I pity the fool who doesn’t squat.

What I’m saying is that people may be making too much out of this whole leverage thing. I benefit greatly from squats even though the esteemed writers on this forum would tell me I am unfavourably leveraged. Pain in the back while squatting suggests a weak or injured back rather than poor leverages. Building up strength in the legs with leg presses while not addressing the underlying weakness in the back is a recipe for disaster.

Squats are unfairly blamed for a whole range of maladies from bad backs and knees to a tendency to spout macho horseshit. It’s interesting that many physiotherapists use squats (albeit without weights) as a part of their back rehab program. Properly executed squats build strength in the back and knees.

Human beings are built to squat. Toddlers will instinctively squat when picking up heavy objects off the floor. Go to a village in rural Asia and you will see many villagers squatting rather than sitting. I’ll wager these people have backs in excellent health.Try telling them to use a chair because they have long femurs.

By: lylemcd

lylemcd — Sun, 25 Apr 2010 20:28:30 +0000

C’mon, Matty, find some basic literacy. Nobody said that long-femured people CAN’T squat, just that they don’t benefit from it as much as the favorably leveraged. Because, see, those words mean different things. And they aren’t really that complicated of concepts to differentiate although, by and large, the macho dipshits who think that squats are required as an exercise seem to be quite the reading impaired.

By: Matty

Matty — Sun, 25 Apr 2010 15:04:52 +0000

Come on lads, quit making excuses why you can’t squat. I have long femurs as per jboy’s definition (long legs, small torso) and the squat is my best lift. Indeed the guys who seem to struggle most with the squat in my local gym are the tall guys with really long torsos. And going to complete failure with the back squat is pretty straightforward to do safely if you use a power rack. I do it sometimes with high rep breathing squats.

Being weak in a lift is no reason to avoid doing it, just do it with a weight you can safely handle. I’m fairly weak in the bench and overhead press, but I make sure I do them at least once a week because they are fundamental lifts. Similarly, the squat is a meat and potatoes exercise for the legs. Leg presses and other machine exercises make a fine garnish.

By: jboy

jboy — Mon, 05 Apr 2010 15:42:44 +0000

AC: people with long femurs are basically going to be those people with long legs in proportion to their height. I have this problem, and heavy squatting is a recipe for destroying my lower back. My long legs also causes problems with DL’ing, because I can’t drive the weight upward without bending forward in order to get the bar around my protruding knees…very bad for the lower back and the skin on my shins.

By: Paul Skavland

Paul Skavland — Sat, 03 Apr 2010 18:42:04 +0000

I’m surprised no one mentioned this, so I’ll comment:

If your training program/philosophy includes “going to complete failure,” it is really difficult to do that safely with a regular back squat.

By: John Sanchez

John Sanchez — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 11:55:03 +0000

Excellent article – that’s a nice pic of powerlifting pioneer Wilbur Miller leg pressing. And what the hell is wrong with training in Army boots?

My 57 year old wife fits the profile you describe for bad squatting mechanics: she’s 5’11 and has a short trunk coupled with legs a mile long. Even front squatting is problematic for her due to the forward lean she needs to keep the bar over the balls of her feet.

The solution? Lunges… the kind where you rack the barbell in front on the clavicles and ft. delts just like with front squats. No forward leaning at all which spares the low back and it hits virtually every mucle group a well excecuted squat does including the glutes.

Cheers,

John Sanchez

By: AC

AC — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 03:01:43 +0000

Hey Lyle, I looked through these comments and couldn’t find mention of it, so pardon if this is a repeat question. What qualifies as a long femur? I.E. how would someone go about decided whether squats are a good idea for them based on body proportions? I’ve been a fan of the front squat for a few years now but if the press will git’er done better, thats awesome for someone with a history of lower-back problems.

By: kc

kc — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 21:12:34 +0000

Leg presses are still quite viable because, like the squat, they’re still very compound and heavy. Comparing the squat to a leg press is not like comparing a squat/dead to a hammy curl or knee extension.

By: lylemcd

lylemcd — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 23:45:29 +0000

I’m plenty qualified and can assure you that everything you wrote is not only addressed up above in the other comments but is simply wrong. The only person who MUST squat is a powerlifter. It’s negotiable for everybody else.

So read the article again, pay attention to the words (they are the little black things on the white background) and then go do your macho chest thumping elsewhere.